Leinster vs Ulster | PRO14 Final 2020

GUINNESS PRO14 FINAL
GUINNESS PLAYERS’
PLAYER OF THE
SEASON
Duhan van der
MERWE
(EDINBURGH)
No player has been more
dangerous with the ball in
hand in the 2019/20 Guinness
PRO14 season than electrifying
Edinburgh winger Duhan van der
Merwe.
The mere sight of the 25-year-old
has struck fear in the opposition
– and he has now been named
the Guinness Players’ Player
of the Season for his standout
campaign.
Earning the recognition of his
fellow players is just reward for
the South African-born flyer, who
carried his regular season form
into Edinburgh’s Semi-Final clash
with Ulster.
While his efforts ultimately
proved to be in vain as Scotland’s
capital team were beaten 22-19 in
a dramatic finale, Van der Merwe
was once again one of the best
players on the pitch.
He finished the game with eight
successful carries, three clean
breaks and 13 defenders beaten
for a total of 101 metres, with
Ulster’s Rob Lyttle his nearest
rival with 78 metres.
It was a performance that
appeared to have guided
Edinburgh to their first Guinness
PRO14 Final before Ulster
mounted a late comeback, sealing
victory in the 80th minute.
But Van der Merwe’s display at
BT Murrayfield was nothing out of
the ordinary for a player who has
consistently brought his A-game
week-in, week-out throughout
this season.
In fact, he finished the regular
campaign top of the stats charts
in several different categories,
with the most clean breaks (32),
defenders beaten (80) and
metres gained (971).
To hammer home just how good
he has been, you only have to
look at the stats of his nearest
rival in each table, Rhyno Smith,
who is a distant second in all
three categories.
Smith gained 229m less, beat 31
fewer defenders and made 14
fewer clean breaks than his fellow
back-three star.
With such a potent weapon
on the wing, it is no surprise
Edinburgh have enjoyed such a
magnificent season as Richard
Cockerill’s side finished top of
Conference B.
One of the highlights of Van der
Merwe’s campaign came in Round
4 when he scored a hat-trick
in a 46-7 victory over Scarlets,
including two tries in the opening
ten minutes.
That was by no means the end of
his try-scoring exploits though,
with another coming against
Dragons in a 20-7 triumph at BT
Murrayfield in Round 6.
He scored one of eight tries
against Isuzu Southern Kings
when Edinburgh romped to a
61-13 success before also crossing
the whitewash against Scarlets
again and Connacht.
Finishing with seven tries in total,
fifth in the leading try scorer
table, there is no doubt that van
der Merwe will continue to light
up the Guinness PRO14 for many
years to come.
TOP TRY-SCORER
RHYNO SMITH
(TOYOTA CHEETAHS)
Toyota Cheetahs full-back
Rhyno Smith was key to
the South African team’s
remarkable home form where
they scored 196 points across
four games. But it was not just
home comforts that worked for
the Free State speedster, who
scored four of his 10 tries away
from home.
BIG RED CLOUD TURNOVER KING
JOSH MacLEOD
(SCARLETS)
The West Wales region have a strong
pedigree for snaffling the ball away
from the opposition at the breakdown
with James Davies and ex-Scarlet
Tadhg Beirne appearing high in the
turnover charts in the past couple of
seasons. In the absence of Davies during this
campaign, MacLeod has performed strongly
at openside picking 23 turnovers to earn the
Big Red Cloud Turnover King award.
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